


A Prince of Royal Blood

by fanetjuh



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Starcrossed Lovers, prince trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanetjuh/pseuds/fanetjuh
Summary: Princess Sansa Stark is in tears. Just when she was about to tell her parents that she had fallen in love with Jon Snow they tell her they officially invited all the princes of royal blood for her prince trials. And Jon Snow is many things, but he is not of royal blood, is he?
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Comments: 29
Kudos: 70





	1. One last goodbye

“Jon!” Sansa wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and buried her face in his neck. Salted tears dripped on his white shirt and a little reluctantly he embraced her and pressed her as tight to him as possible.

Usually these meetings in the woods were the highlight of both their weeks. For her it was an escape from court, no matter how much she enjoyed the gossiping and the balls. For him it was the only time someone was actually seeing him as the guy he could have been.

“San…” Jon pressed a soft kiss on her hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything!” She looked up at him with red and swollen eyes. “I don’t know what to do!”

If Sansa didn’t know what to do, how could he ever know what to do? And so he held her. He rocked her in his arms. He pressed more soft kisses to her forehead and hair. And he most of all waited patiently until she was ready to tell him more.

“They want me to marry!” The blue of her eyes had never been as vibrant as now, when she looked at him with wide open eyes. “And it has to be someone with royal blood.” She swallowed. “I wanted to tell them about you. I wanted to tell them that I wanted to marry you, but they’ve already sent the invitations to all the royal families in Westeros.”

Jon wasn’t the kind of guy to cry. He had grown up in an orphanage with barely enough food on the table and daily fights for comfortable sleeping spaces and sips of water. He had worked the rest of his life in dirty stables, never allowed to get anywhere near the horses and the more interesting jobs. But now, now the only really good thing that had ever happened to him was about to be taken away from him, he felt his eyes burning and stinging.

“It’s gonna be a competition. Every man with royal blood can sign up and whoever wins will get my hand.”

Jon furrowed his eyebrows. “And you’ve got no say in it?” He tensed all his muscles.

“The tests will make sure he’s a good man. Brave and gentle and strong.” She sniffed. Strands of her hair had come loose and framed her angelic face. “But I don’t want someone brave and gentle and strong. I want you!” She locked her glance with his.

“Is there no way I can sign up?” Jon placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he was the right man for Sansa. He was even less sure if he was the kind of man her parents wanted for her. But he wasn’t gonna let her go without a fight either. He had to at least try.

Sansa shook her head. “They test everyone’s blood. If it’s not royal, you will be sent away.”

“Will I be punished if I try?” He was only a simple orphan. A stable boy. But there would probably be countless of men trying. Why couldn’t he?

She shrugged. “I don’t think father feels like beheading half of his male population because they want to marry his daughter.”

“Then I will try.” Jon spoke firmly, but Sansa smiled while she bent her head.

“It won’t change anything…” She sighed. The palm of her hand felt warm and sweaty when she pressed it to his stubbled cheek. “You don’t have royal blood, so you won’t get in. All of this will be over. No more picnics while it’s pouring rain. No more swims in the ice cold lake when the sun is burning our skin. No more stolen kisses and tender embraces.”

Jon’s heart raced in his chest. He knew that all of this had to end at some point. He knew that one day she would marry a handsome and rich prince and he would go on his way with memories and a heartache. But he was no prepared to see her this broken.

Sansa was always fierce. She always walked with her back straight and her chin up. She had a solution for every problem and whenever she discovered that something was impossible she simply found another way. If she was defeated, if she couldn’t see how they would change their fate, how could he ever have hope?

“If this is our last afternoon together…” Jon cleared his throat. “We shouldn’t waste it.” He tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear and then his lips brushed hers.

The rest of the afternoon they talked. They kissed. They held each other and made love in the deserted meadow. They both tried to forget that this was their last afternoon and yet they both made sure to store every little detail away into their memories.

The tips of his fingers touched every curve of her body. His lips and tongue kissed every bit of naked skin. His eyes focussed on her bright blue eyes, staring at him as if he was her world and her world would start crumbling the moment he left. He held his breath while her hands roamed over his body. While her mouth explored every sensitive part of him he forced to keep his eyes open. And when she nestled herself satisfied in his strong arms he wished he could freeze this moment, right here, right now.

But then the sun set. They had almost missed it at first, they had most of all denied it at first, but when they were unmistakably surrounded by twilight they couldn’t run away any longer.

“I have to go…” Sansa whispered. “Mom and dad will sent men to look for me and I don’t wantthem to find us like this.” She pushed herself up and her eyes reflected the last rays of sunshine. “Whatever happens…” She reached for her clothes and started to dress herself while Jon couldn’t move. “You will always be the only man I’ve ever truly loved.” She smiled at him.

The tears on her cheeks had dried. Her eyes were no longer puffy and red and swollen. But the weight on her shoulders was unmistakably still there.

“I’ll never love someone else.” Jon eventually stood up too. “If I can’t have you, I won’t have anyone.”

Sansa shook her head. “Don’t promise me that, Jon.” She cupped his face one more time. “How can I ever be happy if I know that you will be out there waiting for me for the rest of your life?” She kissed his lips and he made sure to memorize her taste too. “There is another girl for you out there, somewhere. Promise me that once I am married, you will go find her and will fall madly in love with her.”

He couldn’t promise her that. He didn’t want to promise her that and yet he nodded, knowing that letting her go was the only good thing he had left to give her. “Be happy.” He embraced her one more time and then it was time to let her go.

“I will if you will.” Sansa walked away, back to the main road, to the horse that would bring her home, to her castle, to her family and to the prince who would be lucky enough to win her hand and hopefully her heart.


	2. One desperate attempt

Pearls of sweat covered his forehead. His black curls sticked to his face and sand and dirt covered his clothes.

“Jon!”

He didn’t look up from the box he was cleaning when Sam walked in.

“Are you coming?”

Normally he joined them when they visited the nearby tavern to drink ale and talk about women they could never have. But he was counting down the days until he would tell the stable master that he would leave. He didn’t need to make friends anymore. As soon as Sansa had her husband he would leave this place and would never come back.

“It’s the last day to sign up from the prince trials.”

Abruptly he looked up. “You’re not gonna sign up, are you?” A chuckle escaped.

“Well, Edd says we can always try.” Sam smiled. “Every guy in the village has tried. You never know, right?”

Jon swallowed. He had promised Sansa that he would try. He had promised her that he would get his blood tested. But why would he do that? He was an orphan! Who dumped a baby prince in an orphanage?

“Don’t you want to know if you don’t have royal blood secretly?”

Another chuckle escaped. “If we’d have royal blood, we wouldn’t be cleaning stables.” Jon shook his head. “But fine. Why don’t we go and make fools of ourselves?” He put all his stuff away. “Go get the horses ready and give me a second to get changed.”

A few minutes later he wore a set of clean clothes. He didn’t know why, but he had searched for his best shirt and his best pants. He had even splashed some water over his shoes to get rid of the worst of the dirt.

“Look at you.” Edd grinned. “Don’t you look pretty all dressed up.”

Jon felt his cheeks heating up, but he didn’t comment while he climbed on the horse he had always considered his. With one brisk movement he forced his horse forward. The sooner this humiliation would be over, the sooner he could start saying goodbye for good.

The line of young men at the market square was hard to miss. Sam hadn’t been exaggerating when he said that every men in the village was determined to grab his chance to find out if there really wasn’t a drop of royal blood in their veins.

“Are we really gonna waste our entire afternoon standing in the burning sun?” He watched one man after the other walk away with his head bowed down in shame.

“Yes, we are.” Edd pushed him to the back of the line. “What do we have to lose? We’re scum anyway. It can’t get any worse.”

And yet Jon felt his heart racing in his chest, speeding up the closer they came to the very front where important looking people were piercing fingertips with sharp needles.

His palms started sweating when there were still twenty people in front of him.

When there were only ten men between him and the table his chest moved up and down that rapidly that Sam grabbed his wrist in an attempt to calm him down.

“You guys go first.” Jon nodded at Edd and Sam when it was finally their turn.

With a shrug of their shoulders they offered the official their fingers. They didn’t wince when the needle pricked them. They even smiled when the official shook his head to confirm for once and for all that they would never be more than stable boys.

“Are you coming forward or what?”

Jon looked up and saw how the elder guy shifted his weight and gestured with his fingers for him to come forward.

“There are more men behind you. It’s now or never. Either you come forward and get tested or you leave now.”

Jon bit his lip. Nothing would change if the official would shake his head after examining his drop of blood. He would still be the stable boy who had some amazing moments with the princess, but couldn’t marry her in the end. But everything would change if, as some sort of miracle, the official would see something, something not even Jon knew was there.

He was an orphan. He didn’t know who his father was. He had never slept in the arms of his mother. Everything was possible.

“What’s the matter, Jon? Afraid you are a prince and will have to compete?” Edd laughed and the men standing behind them in line laughed along. “Come one, get it over with so we can have a few ales and laugh about our tries.”

As if there was enough ale in the world to drown in once every last little bit of hope would be shattered.

Jon stepped forward and held out his hand. His fingers were calloused and the official had to try a few times before the needle finally pierced his skin. Jon barely felt the sting. His heart hurt way too much already for a small prick to bother him. And yet he held his breath when the drop of blood welled up on top of his finger. He didn’t dare to exhale while the official looked at the blood carefully.

In a few more seconds he would shake his head.

“Mister…” The official looked up at Jon.

“Snow, Jon Snow.” He cleared his dry throat.

“Will you come with me for a closer inspection?” The official gestured to the white tent behind the wooden table. “I saw something irregular in your blood.”

Could it be?

Jon didn’t dare to hope, but with a little more hope in his steps he followed the elder man to the secrecy of the tent. He ignored the whispers of all the other gathered men. He even ignored Edd and Sam trying to ask him what was wrong.

“Please, sit down.”

Jon sat down in a wooden chair.

“I will try to be careful, considering the tests in the upcoming days, but I do need a little more blood.” The man reached for Jon’s hand and with a sharp knife he cut his palm.

But Jon was still incapable of feeling pain. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins. He didn’t dare to hope. He didn’t dare to believe that maybe, just maybe he could try and win her hand. That maybe, just maybe for once in his life something would go the way he wanted.

“Jon Snow?” The official looked up. “Congratulations. You are a prince and are hereby allowed to compete for Princess Sansa’s hand in marriage.”

Jon blinked a few times. Had he heard that right? He was a prince? He could compete? A huge smile spread across his face and he jumped up. It took every bit of self control to not wrap his arms around the official and peck his cheek. It took even more self control to not scream that he was gonna marry princess Sansa and that there was absolutely nothing in his way anymore.

Apart from a competition. And a lot of other princes.

But if somehow he could have royal blood in his veins, he didn’t doubt that somehow he would find a way to win this.


	3. One happily ever after

“I present you…”

The palm of his hand was sweating, even though he was holding hers as firmly as he could. He had her. He truly had her. And he swore her and himself that he would never ever let her go again.

“Princess Sansa Stark…”

She looked at him with a huge smile on her face. She had always been beautiful. She had been beautiful covered in grass, surrounded by water or naked in his arms. And yet he had never seen her more beautiful than right now.

“And her betrothed…”

He wouldn’t say the competition had been easy. He wouldn’t say he had never been afraid to be eliminated, like so many others. He wouldn’t say he had never been terrified to fail a test or to make a fool of himself.

But every time he had looked at the other princes he had known that he was the only one fighting for love. He was the only one knowing that the princess rooted for him. He was the only one who had something to lose. Losing hadn’t been an option.

So he had barely slept, using every spare minute to practice and learn. He had given everything he had to give and a little more. He had learned new skills and customs. He had called in every favor of everyone he had ever known.

All this time he had known that if Edd and Sam hadn’t forced him to get his blood tested, he wouldn’t have been here. And all this time he had realized that he owed Sansa more than that. He had promised to fight for her. He almost hadn’t done so, but he had made up for it.

“Prince Jon Snow!”

He wore clothes more expansive than everything he had over owned combined. His new shoes were not only clean, but they were carefully polished and blinking. He still didn’t always know how to behave, how to talk and how to smile.

It didn’t matter.

He had the rest of his life to learn from the best, the woman at his side.

Sansa beamed while they walked down the stairs into the throne room. Her beautiful pink dress swirled around her legs. In her red hair a silver tiara blinked in the light of a million burning candles.

Jon almost couldn’t focus on his own steps, but the fear of tripping over his own feet in front of the entire royal family and all the gathered noblemen conquered his urge to keep on looking at the beautiful woman who would really be his wife.

Eddard Stark and his wife Catelyn stood in front of the crowd, surrounded by their children. Arya, the younger sister he had befriended during the last few weeks, was clapping her hands and not even Robb Stark, who already treated him as a brother, attempted to stop her.

Behind them stood the princes who lost. Most of them would simply compete in the trial for another princess and, if they wouldn’t win that trial either, also in the ones after that.

Joffrey Baratheon, crown prince of King’s landing, had threatened not to come and still wore the disgust visible on his face. He had tried to play dirty, but unlike the tricks of Ramsay Bolton, who was now rotting away in the cells of Winterfell, Joffrey’s attempts to ridge the game had not resulted in severe casualties.

Theon Greyjoy, crown prince of the Iron Isles and probably the only other man who had wanted Sansa for more than just her title and beauty, nodded encouragingly at Jon. He was the only one who had stepped away from the game when he noticed how much Sansa loved Jon and the other way round.

Once their feet safely reached the dance floor the orchestra in the corner of the throne room started playing.

Jon always thought that dancing wasn’t his strongest suit, until he discovered that he could do everything as long as it was with her. In one smooth movement he twirled her towards him and they smiled when they heard the audience gasp.

“And here I thought we would never make another memory together.” Sansa placed a hand on his chest. “Who could have thought that all of the memories we already had were only the beginning?”

Jon smiled when he carefully guided her through the steps they had practiced for hours. “Who could have thought that I was a prince?”

“Do you want to know who your parents are?” Sansa cocked her head. She looked graceful and even though she was clearly focussing on anything but her steps she didn’t miss a beat. “Would you want to find your family?”

The last couple of weeks he had asked himself that same question over and over. He still wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t change his childhood. And yet he wondered why someone would leave a prince in an orphanage without letting anyone know who he was. But what if they had left him there to protect him? What if going after his parentage would put him, and Sansa, in danger?

He smiled. “I wanna focus on our wedding first.” He pulled Sansa a littler closer towards him, even though it was not considered appropriate by the etiquettes they had taught him. “I never had a family. Now I’m gonna be part of yours.” His nose brushed hers. “One step at a time.”

Sansa chuckled. “My family can be quite overwhelming at times, but I promise they mean well.” She locked her glance with his. “Especially Arya seems to like you.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “No, she likes me because I’m even worse at being a royal than she is.”

“Who knows.” Sansa glanced at her sister before she looked but at Jon. “In a few years she will be old enough for her own prince trials.” She bit her lip. “She might find her own hidden prince.”

“As if this will happen again.”

Sansa shrugged. “If our story has proven one thing, it’s that you should never give up before the game is played.”

Jon swallowed. “I almost did.” He licked his lips. “I didn’t even want to get my blood tested.” He sighed. “If one day I would have found out I had royal blood and could have competed…”

Sansa pressed a finger to his lips. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You did get your blood tested and you did win the competition and you will become my husband.” She quickly pecked his lips. “And we will get our happily ever after.”

“Careful, San.” Jon whispered. “We’re not married yet. If we don’t behave your parents can still cast me out.”

Sansa shook her head. “They can try. But if they cast you out, I will leave this palace with you and go wherever they are happy to have us. Together.”

Jon smiled. “You have no idea how much I love you.”

“I do, but I still love you more.”

He wasn’t so sure about that. He wasn’t sure it was even possible. He really would never ever let her go again.


End file.
